--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fashion, though in a strange way…" description: "\"Fashion, though in a strange way, represents all manly virtue. It is virtue gone to seed: it is a kind of posthumous honor. It does not often caress th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_caress_fashion-though-in-a-strange-way-represen_2005020.jpg" --- # Fashion, though in a strange way, represents all manly… ![“Fashion, though in a strange way, represents all manly virtue. It is virtue gone to seed: it is a kind of posthumous honor. It does not often caress the great, but the children of the great: it is a hall of the Past.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_caress_fashion-though-in-a-strange-way-represen_2005020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_caress_fashion-though-in-a-strange-way-represen_2005020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_caress_fashion-though-in-a-strange-way-represen_2005020.jpg) > “Fashion, though in a strange way, represents all manly virtue. It is virtue gone to seed: it is a kind of posthumous honor. It does not often caress the great, but the children of the great: it is a hall of the Past.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emerson likens fashion to a delayed honor that reflects past virtues, mostly affecting those linked to greatness rather than the great themselves. **In simple terms:** Fashion reflects past virtues, honoring the great’s descendants. Key Takeaway Recognize fashion’s symbolic role. Themes culture honor heritage Mood reflective critical Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - fashion design - historical costume study - cultural critique - marketing heritage - personal branding Key Concepts symbolism legacy social status Questions to Reflect On - What does fashion say about societal values? - Can fashion truly honor past virtues? A Different Perspective Fashion can be superficial and fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Manly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manly/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/for-a-thousand-years-no-king-in-christendom-has-shown-such-greatness/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The only reward of virtue is virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-reward-of-virtue-is-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-reward-of-virtue-is-virtue-the-only-way-to-have-a-friend-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When we see a special reformer we feel like asking him, What right have you, sir, to your own virtue? 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Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. 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